Jesus, “the Lord is Salvation”

     Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
     Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth
     into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus
     Christ from the dead.
                                        (1 Peter 1:3)

Throughout the Bible we see that names hold great meaning and often are used to describe significant change. This is certainly true in the Christmas story.

In The Wonder of Christmas, the writers point out a fascinating connection between Jesus’ name and that of Joshua, one of the Old Testament heroes. We learn of Joshua’s story in the Book of Numbers, in which we find the Israelites living in the desert. After being freed from Egypt’s tyrannical slavery, they lived for a time in the wilderness; and now they have made it to the edge of the promised land of Canaan. In Numbers 13, God tells Moses, their leader, to send scouts, one from each of the original tribes of Judah.

One of the men has the Hebrew name Hoshea, meaning “salvation.” We read in Numbers 13:16 that, before sending the spies to explore the land, Moses changed Hoshea’s name to Joshua. In doing so, Moses wove together two names–Jehovah (Yahweh), the proper name of the God of Israel, and Hoshea, which means “salvation.” This formed a new name, Joshua (Yehoshua in Hebrew), meaning “the Lord is salvation,” or God saves.

Why change his name from “salvation” to “the Lord is salvation”? The distinction is not immediately clear until we read about how the scouting trip turned out. Ten of the scouts came back and reported there was no way the Israelites could defeat the Canaanites living there and claim their God-given land. It was too big of a task, they said. But two of the scouts, Caleb and Joshua, had a different take: “The land we crossed through to explore is an exceptionally good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, he’ll bring us into this land and give it to us. It’s a land that’s full of milk and honey. Only don’t rebel against the LORD and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are our prey. Their defense has deserted them, but the Lord is with us.

So don’t be afraid of them” (Numbers 14:7-9 CEB).

Caleb and Joshua saw the same obstacles as the other scouts. They were not blind or living in denial; they simply believed their God was powerful enough to do what God had promised. They could not achieve victory on their own (Hoshea, salvation), but God could do it (Joshua, the Lord is salvation). After the Israelites wondered in the wilderness for forty years (the consequence for their disobedience and lack of faith)he Lord did just that. God opened the doors to the Promised Land, and Joshua became the leader who led God’s people in.

When the angel announced that Mary and Joseph were to name the child Jesus, that name would have meant something significant go them because Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua–“You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 NASB). Just as Joshua led God’s people out of the desert into the Promised Land, Jesus came to lead us out of the wilderness of sin into the Promised Land of God’s eternal presence. Jesus means “the Lord is salvation,” pointing us to the eternal power and presence of God.

When he and his people were enslaved in Egypt, Hoshea’s name (“salvation”) was spoken as a hope, a pipe dream that one day might come true. But through God’s power, Joshua’s name (“the Lord is salvation”) was hope fulfilled. Jesus came, bringing freedom and salvation. Through Jesus, the hope of salvation has become a reality. Amen!

Prayer Focus:
What does your heart hope for today? Can it be that Jesus has already fulfilled that hope and you simply need to claim it? Give thanks today for the fulfillment of all your hopes in Christ.

From Rob Renfroe and Ed Robb, The Wonder of Christmas: Devotions for the Season